Scotland 2024...

[ST1100Y]

... AKA 'The Pothole Rodeo' ...

leaving Sat Sept 14 in really awful weather, heavy winds, massive downpours (it was the begin of the flood weekend...)



weather finally improved once we crossed south of the town Pilsen, blue skies from there on...


day 2 brought us through the planes of 'Klingonistan'...



they're weird...
not permitted to occupy nations or countries anymore, they clinch onto the center and left lanes of their autobahns... its like beach-towels and deck-chairs...
Very blocking, very frustrating...
Motorhomes in the left lane doing ~90kph, about 25~30 cars queuing behind... whist 2nd and 1st lane are fully clear of traffic...
My GF, way more short fused then me, unleashed the 65HP of her NT700VA quite frequently to pass particular stubborn individuals on the right...


3rd day we made it to Ilmuiden/Amsterdam to board the ferry...



Waiting...



waiting...



using the spare time...





finally aboard and all secured...



interesting fact:
ferry corps absolutely hate motorcyclists...
They guaranty that of your bike is located on the bow section of the car deck, your cabin will be all the way aft...
If your moto is located in the aft section, your cabin will be all the way forward to the bow of the ship... always... on any ferry I've been, anywhere...

Nightfall out on the sea...

 

[ST1100Y]

Morning out at sea...



steaming into the Thyne... (Newcastle)



heading west ASAP... brought the first experiences with absolute rotten road conditions...



some sights along the way...

old roman fort, light house...





heading north the next morning held the next "surprises"...



[ROAD CLOSED]

... end of statement ...
like "you're on your own, and now get off our effing island!"

Seriously, no detour signed out, nothing...
Lost over 2 hrs by having to go the completely wrong direction and even having to use the m/way, which are as well in very bad conditions...
Potholes on the fast lane, "trenches" as wide and deep as an ST1100 front tire between the lanes (dare if you hit that in a too flat angle), etc...

But a nice castle along the way...













heading into Glasgow, a nightmare...
heavy traffic is one thing, bot roadworks everywhere, roads closed, one ways temporarily reversed, potholes, cracks, patchwork, sunken manhole covers...
you slow down at a junction and the handlebar gets almost ripped out of your hands over the front wheel snapping into deep cracks...
There also seem some GPS jammers in operation as the trusty Garmin suddenly went off for like 3~4 blocks, switched to my phone, which also had a hard time to find a sat-fix and location...

Finally made it to the hotel... "you have to pay for parking your car!"
(note that I'm standing there in full Gore stitches wearing an open flip-front helmet...)
Huh?! Do I look like I'm driving a car?! No designated motorcycle parking?
NO!
Ooookayyy... trust me, if I really have to pay fully for two motorcycles, we will manage to occupy two full spaces out there ...
Now the female receptionist of Indian origin starts to grow an attitude...
The manager jumps in: ehhh, its fine if you pay only for one if you keep both bikes in one space...
Great, that's constructive, now we're getting somewhere!
The Indian receptionist still vibrating in attitude...
I walk over to a huge touchscreen...
Seriously?! They want me to install an app on my phone for this?!! I'm here for one evening... damn data miners...
Quite hidden I discover a function where you can enter you credit-card information... like if that's safe...

anyway, from the series 'your motorcycle in front of big things':



back in the day they'd used that to load (steam) ship engines...







Anyway, you wanna have dinner in this city?... nay!

In a restaurant nearby, like +10 tables free...
uhm, ehh, no, we have a group here (one table with about 10 folks), so we're full, try again in 45 minutes maybe...
They literally don't want paying customer's business...
The lack of service-orientation is another red thread that followed us for the next days...

hmm, we retreated into the room and munched some E-rations my GF had squirled away in her NT's topcase... wise gal...

 

[Mellow]

...wow, well, at least the views were great...

 

[Upt' North]

Ah, we bonny Jockland, tha land of attitude and midges, I know it well.
Looking forward to more.
Upt.

 

[Sadlsor]

...wow, well, at least the REviews were great...

FIFY.
Still, in the end, y'all both get to say "BTDT!"
When you finally got to eat in Scotland, tell us what you thought of their food...

 

[ST1100Y]

leaving Glasgow, heading further north...






navigating out the city again challenging, not only is the GPS signal impaired, in their kindness the local youth is using all signpost as graffiti canvas, thanks a lot...


the Devil's Pulpit...
























so after 3 days here we finally managed to get fish'n'chips...

 

[ST1100Y]

... and a fully cooked the next morning



a great invention as this keeps one running the entire day...




a couple "old barges"...









full moon -> low tide, hence a +4 hours wait for the ferry...

treated ourselves with some ice cream... with whiskey aroma...



and shopping...



finally on the boat...



the 4 hours delay screwed the schedule...




translated this reads: the ferry is fully booked...
dunno why they just say so...

so we had to double back and find a place for the night

 

[Moto-Charlie]

I'm enjoying your report - Thanks for sharing. Three things occurred to me as I read it:

• Your comments on road conditions - I spend 6 to 12 weeks a year riding the Alps. The road conditions there are much better than where I live here in the US approx. 100 kms north of Boston. Your home roads are pretty good compared to most non-Alps places I've ridden, so in some regards I think you may be spoiled road wise
• You mentioned having to deal with a lot of detours, route changes, etc. and also that your GPS went off on you for a short while. In the past I have driven detours that routed me onto the oncoming lane of highways etc. My GPS seemed to know enough about the road that it thought I was on the wrong lane in the wrong direction and basically stopped directing me until the detour rejoined the road in the correct lane and direction. Perhaps something similar happened to you.
• I also hear you about the intrusion of tech and datamining. I was at a nice (expensive) hotel in Lucerne Switzerland a couple of weeks ago checking in at the front desk. Even though the hotel had all my info via my online reservation and even though I was the only customer, the receptionist made me check in detail by detail via the online app. She could have easily entered or transcribed it herself, but she insisted I do it myself (with her step-by-step guidance). I was not impressed.

Hope the rest of your trip goes great.

 

[ST1100Gold]

Watching with interest on where you headed next, I can visualize the trip through Scotland (so far) ...
... hope you continued North, around the upper part of the NC500, then East and down the coast ...

 

[ST1100Y]

shifting plans we left out Isle of Skye for now and headed north...









that one is still in operation...





that one isn't...











me eaten by midges...



that one is a search picture, zoom in and you'll find me carving uphill there...



mint cake...



tried to live on the edge by eating some After Eight at 0758hrs...



found a nice hotel...



quiet, peaceful...
until a full coach-load of pensioners invaded the place at 2315hrs... uhboy...

 

[ST1100Gold]

FIFY.
Still, in the end, y'all both get to say "BTDT!"
When you finally got to eat in Scotland, tell us what you thought of their food...

Being honest, if its wholesome, homemade food or a traditional kitchen it can be quite healthy.
On the fast food side or a Full Scottish Breakfast it could be "a heart attack on a plate" ... ... nearly everything is fried (sausage, bacon, eggs, potato scones, fried bread, haggis slice, black pudding slice, hash browns) all topped off with a few button mushrooms and a spoonful of baked beans ... ... sets you up for the day though

 

[ST1100Y]

mentioned elderlies started to rummage in the place at like 0500hrs...

breakfast buffet was a battlefield... literally...

a crispy morning though...





where the clouds flow over the ridges like melting whip-cream...







that's an office desk I could live with... (if it weren't for the potholes and washboards...)

 

[ST1100Y]

another day, another scenary...






















the remains of a primal Roundhouse...
the road there... hmm... quite "adventurous"...

 

[Upt' North]

Are they the Summer Isles you've just posted a piccie of.
Scotland proper.
Upt.

 

[gmtech94]

We just got back from Scotland yesterday and found it an amazing place to visit . We were on a bus and did 12 days from Edinburgh around the north coast and back to Glasgow .A lot of the same spots that you were in but different direction . I would have enjoyed being on a motorcycle but not to be this trip . Roads were pretty interesting in the bus as not a lot of room especially on The Isle of Skye . Had a great time and the Brittania is a very nice place to spend a few hours . So much history and we got to see 4 castles and the life that some people there still live .Enjoyed our visit but the Canuck dollar is not to favourable to the British pound .

 

[Big_Jim59]

Being honest, if its wholesome, homemade food or a traditional kitchen it can be quite healthy.
On the fast food side or a Full Scottish Breakfast it could be "a heart attack on a plate" ... ... nearly everything is fried (sausage, bacon, eggs, potato scones, fried bread, haggis slice, black pudding slice, hash browns) all topped off with a few button mushrooms and a spoonful of baked beans ... ... sets you up for the day though

Boy! I miss a full Scottish breakfast. (Everything but the black pudding that is.) I am from Texas and we like our sausage to burn the roof of your mouth off. Other than that it's heaven. I also ate my share of salmon and eggs for breakfast.

 

[ST1100Y]

With some delay we make a second attempt to the Isle of Skye...






moody, as always...



stopping for petrol we ask for a loo (toilet/bath/restroom)...
Nah! But a bit further is a parking space with public toilets...

Yeah... parking fees plus pissing fees...

there no Coffee & Tea houses anymore on the Isle, it's now "baristaaaaa"





OTOH decent coffee (rare!) and excellent cakes there...








on the way back from there, a single track road, total gridlock... about 10 cars...
them bloody tourists in their rental compacts clogging up everything, by stubbornly ignoring their designated passing places... just amazing...









Kilt Rock...
Now equipped with... a humongous parking lot and... a parking fee machine!
But no public restroom... anywhere...
And the tarmac on the parking lot is quite smooth... unlike the roads though...





and against all odds, we managed to find accommodation on the Isle of Skye... a novum...



no restaurant or other food source anywhere... on our E-rations again...



evening visitors...

 

[ST1100Y]

Slept very well, another bright morning...



back to the mainland...












Nessie mint ice-cream...





GF found a very unique place for the night...



an actual horse-box...



the silence and panorama is priceless though...

 

[ST1100Y]

a very crispy morning... brrrrr...



breakfast for champions...







spent a couple of days to regroup and fix damages caused by the constant banging and hammering by those road surfaces...

casualties so far:
- broken taillight bulb on the NT700VA; fixed...
- aux horns on ST1100 failed; guts of the relay have been banged to pieces, I now have an Audi relay in there; fixed...
- detachable front of the Sony stereo went dark, have to guestimate what I'm adjusting... pending...
- my iPod gave in, thankfully I'd brought a spare, quick swap and we've tunes again...
- despite my Neotec helmet never getting wet or even soaked inside, the microphone of my SENA SLR-II failed; a whiff ACF-50 on the tiny 2-pin connector, fixed...

Thankfully no blown fork seals...yet...

evening drive...











bloody tourists in the cold evening breeze...

 

[ST1100Y]

out on a one day ride...



GF decided to take a break and join as pillion...





you think that locals are kinda unaffected by the [ROAD CLOSED] policy? Nay!

John darted into a road... and hammered on the brakes, hectically signalling to turn around...

They're sneaky, not that they place the sign right at the junction, nah!

they hide it like 100 yards further on the road...nana-nana-nahhnahh...




stopping for another load of fish'n'chips...



but note: no indoor tables, no restrooms, nadda...

still a great day out...